Medifast After Gastric Bypass Surgery

Q&A with Medifast Take Shape for Life Health Coach Stacie Scheet

One of the fringe benefits of doing Medifast has been meeting some exceptional people through several Facebook groups to which I belong. I quickly took a liking to a fellow "loser" named Stacie Scheet, whose posts and comments revealed a woman with keen psychological insights, a positive attitude and a great sense of humor.

Before and After
 Stacie Scheet, Certified TSFL Health Coach

Over time I learned that Stacie had undergone a gastric bypass procedure in the past but had since regained more than half the pounds she lost after the surgery.

Many people who want to lose more than a hundred pounds consider the option of gastric bypass surgery; so I wondered how Stacie felt about this popular procedure.

Did she wish she had done Medifast instead?

Would she still recommend gastric bypass surgery to others?

And why was Medifast working so well for her now?

Happily, Stacie agreed to answer some of my questions so I could share with my readers the first-hand experience of a woman who successfully lost weight through the Medifast 5&1 Plan after reversing some of her post-surgical weight loss.

Q: When did you have gastric bypass surgery?
A: March 20, 2002

Q: What diets or other weight loss strategies had you tried before then? 
A: Everything -- Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, Cabbage Soup, Slim Fast . . . and exercise!

Q: How much did you weigh when you had the surgery?
A: My highest was 273 pounds.

Q: How much weight did you lose after the surgery – and in what time span?
A: I lost 110 pounds, the majority of it in the first six months.

Q: Did you develop any alternate addictions after the surgery (shopping, gambling, etc.)?
A: I did not, though I had many many friends who did develop these cross addictions, including a couple of friends who died from alcohol poisoning.

Q: What made you decide to try Medifast?
A: It felt like a last ditch effort. Weight Watchers wasn't working for me. It was too easy for me to out-eat my points and you have to exercise a lot (I am not a fan of sweating!). I considered myself a successful surgical patient but that wasn't an option any more. I knew that Medifast was physician based and worked; so I gave it a try. I didn't realize how much it would change what I thought I knew about food, eating and nutrition.

Q: How much weight have you lost to date?
A: 68.9 pounds. My initial goal was 45 to 50 pounds, but once I reached that the program was so easy and the weight and inches were still melting off. So I thought I'd try for another twenty.  For me its never been about a number on the scale as much as how I felt in my own skin.

Q: Would you still recommend gastric bypass surgery to others who want to lose weight? Why or why not?
A: I am a believer in gastric bypass. My issue is that it has become a quick fix. Most people (myself included) do not learn to change the way we eat. We lose weight because our intake is limited. But once the ability to eat more occurs, most people will. My weight gain happened at years 9 and 10. I gained 50 pounds.

Q: Why do you think Medifast has worked so well for you?
A: It works because it's a sound program that has taught me how to fuel my body and what I need to do to sustain my weight loss. Reading The Habits of Health by Dr. Anderson had me slapping my forehead in the first few chapters! That, on top of the coaching system (which gave me someone to be accountable to) made it rock solid.

Q: Why do you think you will be able to maintain your ideal weight after reaching your goal?
A: Knowledge, passion and accountability. Learning that calories are not equal. And getting healthy with my husband means that I have a partner in health and a new outlook on our life.

Q: What made you decide to become a Medifast Take Shape for Life health coach?
A: This program works. It is doctor recommended and based on science and nutrition. It's not a fad. I became passionate about my health and shared my success with anyone that would listen. I want anyone out there to be able to enjoy their life again. It just seemed natural to pay it forward by becoming a Certified Health Coach

Pop singer Carnie Wilson also regained weight
after bypass surgery.  She elected to have
another bariatric procedure.

Q: What is the most valuable thing you have learned from the program? 
A: The eating plan (six small meals a day) is a perfect way to sustain energy and nourish  my body. And to become friends with my scale. In the long run, the scale will be the tool that keeps me accountable.

Q: Do you regret having the gastric bypass surgery?
A: I don't regret it. What I regret is that there wasn't a wonderful support and educational system like Take Shape for Life available as a post op. There's an old saying that knowledge is power, and when it comes to our health nothing could be closer to the truth.

Q: What else would you like to share with anyone considering gastric bypass surgery?
A: Try Medifast Take Shape for Life. Find a coach that can help you be passionate about your journey. Gastric bypass seems like the easy way out, but it's not. Besides the side effects that can occur -- the dumping, the surgical issues, the aforementioned cross addictions -- it's not a lifetime fix. The majority of the people who had surgery about the same time I did have regained some or all of their weight. They are struggling just like the pre-op days.

If you would like to contact Stacie directly, you can email or call her via her Take Shape for Life health coach page.